Wish I'd had a camera at the time, but a cartoon will have to do.

This represents a direct view of two actual incomplete rainbow arcs that stop in midair where they cross, lit only by a setting sun. How could this be? I honestly wondered if it was a dream.

            What would explain this odd pair of rainbows?

                Why is the smaller one slightly brighter?

Notes. Each main arch was accompanied by a rainbow’s usual set of concentric fainter arcs, which exhibited the same phenomenon of stopping sharply where they crossed exactly above or below the main crossing point. Safe to guess that this effect never occurred more than a century or two ago. Some details of the real-life story have been altered in order to stymie internet searches.